Finnish White Guard

The White Guard was a Finnish anti-communist paramilitary group that fought against the Red Guards during the Finnish Civil War of 1918. The White Guards consisted mostly of German-trained jaegers and local draftees and recruitees, and it disarmed all Russian troops in the country on 27 January 1918. On the same day, the Reds declared a revolution, leading to a Civil War breaking out. The White Guards, led by Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, constituted the bulk of the White Army, which defeated the Reds. From 1919 to 1934, the White Guards were considered to be Finnish Army volunteers, and its members were anti-leftist, clearly anti-communist, and conservative; it was rejected by the labor movement and the political left. White Guardsmen served in the regular Finnish Army during the Winter War of 1939-1940, and it was disbanded as a part of the Soviet-Finnish peace treaty.